NBA Finals - Finals Appearances

Finals Appearances

The statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual games won and lost.

# Team W L % Most recent appearance Most recent title Notes
31 Los Angeles Lakers 16 15 .516 2010 2010 1 NBL title and 5 NBA titles as Minneapolis Lakers; 2 three-peats: one as Minneapolis from 1952–54 and one as Los Angeles from 2000–02. The Lakers have won 11 and lost 14 NBA Championships in Los Angeles.
21 Boston Celtics 17 4 .809 2010 2008 Won 8 straight titles from 1959–66. The first 13 titles were Brown Trophies, the rest being Larry O'Brien Championship Trophies.
9 Philadelphia 76ers 3 6 .333 2001 1983 1–2 as Syracuse Nationals.
8 New York Knicks 2 6 .250 1999 1973 In 1999, became first 8th playoff seed to ever reach Finals.
7 Detroit Pistons 3 4 .428 2005 2004 0–2 as Ft. Wayne Pistons. Only franchise to win a title in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s (decade).
6 Chicago Bulls 6 0 1.000 1998 1998 All with head coach Phil Jackson and players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Two three-peats: 1991–93 and 1996–98.
6 Golden State Warriors 3 3 .500 1975 1975 2–1 as Philadelphia Warriors; 0–2 as San Francisco Warriors; 1–0 as Golden State Warriors.
4 San Antonio Spurs 4 0 1.000 2007 2007 All with head coach Gregg Popovich and Power Forward/Center Tim Duncan. Won three championships in six years (2003, 2005, 2007).
4 Houston Rockets 2 2 .500 1995 1995 2 championships with center Hakeem Olajuwon (named MVP in both championship series) and coach Rudy Tomjanovich, championships were back to back.
4 Atlanta Hawks 1 3 .250 1961 1958 All appearances as St. Louis franchise.
4 Oklahoma City Thunder 1 3 .250 2012 1979 1-2 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Relocated to Oklahoma City for the 2008–09 NBA season.
4 Washington Wizards 1 3 .250 1979 1978 0–1 as Baltimore Bullets, 1–2 as Washington Bullets.
3 Miami Heat 2 1 .667 2012 2012 All with Dwyane Wade. Faced Mavericks in 2006 (won in six on the road) and 2011 (lost in six at home). Won the 2012 Finals 4-1 after losing the first game.
3 Portland Trail Blazers 1 2 .333 1992 1977 Lost Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia, won four straight, three of those coming in Portland, led by UCLA legend and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton.
2 Dallas Mavericks 1 1 .500 2011 2011 Lost in the 2006 Finals and won in the 2011 Finals versus the Heat.
2 Milwaukee Bucks 1 1 .500 1974 1971 Won with Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).
2 Brooklyn Nets 0 2 .000 2003 Never Won 2 ABA titles in 1974 and 1976, and was defeated in 1972 ABA Finals as New York Nets. Appeared twice in NBA Finals as New Jersey Nets.
2 Orlando Magic 0 2 .000 2009 Never Swept by the Rockets in 1995 and defeated in 2009 by the Lakers in a 4–1 series.
2 Phoenix Suns 0 2 .000 1993 Never
2 Utah Jazz 0 2 .000 1998 Never Both with coach Jerry Sloan and players Karl Malone and John Stockton and against the Bulls.
1 Sacramento Kings 1 0 1.000 1951 1951 Won one NBL title in 1946. Won first appearance in NBA Finals as Rochester Royals.
1 Cleveland Cavaliers 0 1 .000 2007 Never Were swept in their first and only appearance in the NBA Finals.
1 Indiana Pacers 0 1 .000 2000 Never Team won three ABA championships (1970, 1972, 1973) and made two other ABA Finals appearances (1969, 1975).

Read more about this topic:  NBA Finals

Famous quotes containing the word appearances:

    “It is doubtless wise, when a reform is introduced, to try to persuade the British public that it is not a reform at all; but appearances must be kept up to some extent at least.”
    —George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)